YOBS in two areas plagued by dangerous and anti-social behaviour are to be moved on in a crackdown.

Police are being given powers to disperse groups of two or more people caught causing trouble in the Camber Docks and Queen Street areas of Portsmouth.

The two six-month dispersal orders means that anyone who returns within 24 hours faces up to three months in jail and a £2,500 fine.

The orders will be in place by summer when anti-social behaviour traditionally rises in both areas.

Officials want to deter people from jumping into the Solent from the Camber Docks – a practice known as tombstoning – and climbing along the Hot Walls in Old Portsmouth as well as preventing trouble.

Sgt Darren Stiles, from St Thomas Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: ‘The waters on the Camber Docks can be very shallow, and this can cause serious if not life-threatening injuries to those who jump from it. As well as this, Camber is a working dock and is used by fishermen, whose boats are often climbed on causing damage and disruption.’

In the Queen Street area it is hoped the order will help quell trouble. Sgt Tim Lucas from Charles Dickens Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: ‘Queen Street has historically been a meeting place for many youths who live in Portsea.

‘Over the years, the police have received numerous complaints about the anti-social behaviour of this group and the intimidating way that they gather outside the shopping area in Queen Street.

‘They drink alcohol, spit on the floor, swear, play football in the road and generally cause a nuisance for local residents, business owners and visitors to the city.

‘The dispersal order allows the police to take action.

The Camber Docks dispersal zone will include White Hart Road, the Square and Round Towers and the Grand Parade. It will run from April 29 and end just before midnight on October 2.

Queen Street’s dispersal zone will start on May 9 and end just before midnight on November 6. Areas included are Queen Street from Donns park to the west footpath of Admiralty Road, Prince George Street and Curzon Howe Road.